SASHA MATSON Range of Light / The Fifth Lake CD

valleyRange of Light /mvt. IV – “Going Home to the Mountains (time 3:30 mp3 1.4mb) Going Home to the Mountains

The Fifth Lake /mvt. III- Gusts of wind (time 4:06  mp3 3.7 mb) Gust of wind

 “The ability of Matson to mirror with his music ( Range Of Light ) the same emotions that Muir expressed with his words is uncanny … A must-have for those looking for a more cerebral approach to accessible and consonant classical music.” – Robert Reina, The Tracking Angle

 

 

“Range Of Light has about it a hint of Transcendentalism which appealed to Muir… It is a music in which one suspends time, feels warm and comforted, loved and loving, in which one meets old friends and ideas circling in new ways.” – George Buckbee, The John Muir Newsletter.

” A spectacular piece The Fifth Lake … Clear music for clear minds.”- Santa Fe Sun.

SASHA MATSON Steel Chords / i-5  CD

bio5Steel Chords / mvt. III – Steel Dances (time 1:06  mp3 2.6mb) Steel Dances  i-5 / mvt. V – City Limits (time 3:23  mp3 1.3mb) City Limits 

“New works, new classics arise replacing older works as reference points. Such a work is Sasha Matson’s Steel Chords, I-5, These works for pedal steel guitar, harp and strings are models of contemporary classical music.” – Mark Sulveres, WSPN– Saratoga Springs.

“RECORD OF THE YEAR…the mature, intelligent, and exciting pair of works ( Steel Chords, i-5 ) included in this stunningly recorded album…a significant new classical composer.” – Robert Reina, The Absolute Sound.

“At this stage of his career, Matson seems to be the best kind of innovator- one who works from the inside, with an excellent balance of knowledge, respect, and fresh ideas.” – Bill Tilland, Option.

 

“MATSON IS THE SURPRISE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR…Stravinskian vigor as well as unabashed Coplandy folksiness … his forms are thoughtful and unpredictable.” – Kyle Gann, The Village Voice.

“For an audiophile, this recording is pure heaven. Likewise for Sasha Matson’s music. It is sensual, evocative, picturesque, challenging, lyrical, and passionate …. a homespun country twang that makes this music about as American as anything I can think of.” – Tom Schnabel, KCRW – NPR, Santa Monica

SELECTED CONCERT WORKS


Orchestral

  • Lime Sodas — Orchestra
  • Spell — Large Orchestra
  • Symphony of Films — Orchestra
  • The Meat Suite — For Frank Zappa — Electric Ensemble and Orchestra

Chamber Music

  • Sonata — Contrabass and Piano
  • Cut To Bar Interior — Piano and String Quartet
  • i‑5 — String Quintet and Harp
  • Gangster Sonata — Clarinet and Piano
  • Five Sound‑Tracks — Piano, Clarinet, Bassoon
  • Woodwind Trios 1 + 2
  • String Quartet in F
  • String Trio Pastorale
  • Prelude and Toccata — Piano
  • Wedding Dance — Piano

Vocal / Choral

  • Little Woodstar — Vocal Quintet and Orchestra
  • Range Of Light — Mezzo Soprano and Chamber Orchestra
  • Musecology — Mezzo‑Soprano and Octet
  • Wallace Stevens Triptych — Chorus SATB
  • Songs — Baritone and Piano
  • The City Of Dreadful Night — Tenor and Brass Quintet
  • As We Grew Older — Tape

Concertos & Feature Works

  • Steel Chords — Triple Concerto for Violins, Pedal Steel Guitar, and String Orchestra
  • Annunciation I — Violin and H arp with Echoes
  • Annunciation II — Woodwind Sextet
  • Annunciation III — Jazz Quartet

Theater / Dance / Mixed Media

  • The Aesthetic Dimension — Electric Ensemble and Mixed Media
  • Return — Electric Ensemble
  • Beyond Recall — Tape and Percussion
  • Placeless — Tape Dance Score
  • Interface — Tape Dance Score
  • Paths — Tape Dance Score
  • Virginia — Theater Tape Score
  • The Pink Zither — Tape

Other

  • Cooperstown… Tight Lines… Old Trout America… — For Bluegrass Ensemble — in progress
  • The Fifth Lake — Guitar, Celtic and Concert Harps, and Percussion

Films

Year Title Role
1986 A Winner Never Quits Orchestrator (uncredited)
1988 Daddy’s Boys Composer, Lyricist
1988 Shadows in the Storm Composer
1989 Liberty & Bash Composer
1989 River of Death Composer
1989 Bloodfist Composer
1989 Lobster Man from Mars Composer
1991 Total Exposure Composer
1991 CBS Schoolbreak Special Composer (1 episode)
1993 Dead Center Composer
1993 Betrayal of the Dove Composer